If you are looking for a sweet and delicious treat you have to try these No Bake Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls. Five simple ingredients help to create an amazing homemade treat that tastes like a Reese's peanut butter cup, but better! These make the perfect addition to your cookie platter or can be made for edible gifts for family and friends!
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Why You'll Love These No Bake Peanut Butter Balls!
I have a confession to make. These dipped creamy peanut butter balls are addictive, but won’t apologize for it. I am not sure how something so small can be so satisfying but they are amazing and the best part is that they are super simple to make. No oven is required for these sweet treats and they are perfect for all occasions. Bring out a plate full when you have people over, and enjoy them as a sweet snack or something to tackle that sweet tooth!
The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a match made in heaven anyway, but the crunch and texture from the crushed vanilla wafers just add that little extra something. This is the perfect easy dessert to be made ahead of time and can be prepped in minutes, there isn’t much you can’t love about this recipe. This also makes them ideal DIY gifts that you can make for friends, and family, or even as cute teacher gifts at Christmas.
- Super simple to make - You can’t go wrong with this chocolate peanut butter balls recipe. Prepped and ready in minutes, they are so easy and fool-proof.
- No long list of ingredients - A huge plus for this easy peanut butter balls recipe is that you only need five ingredients, and I am betting you probably have them in your home right now.
- Kid-friendly - These sweet little balls of deliciousness are not just for adults, the kids will love them too. They could even get involved in making them.
- Perfect for the holidays - Make a batch for the holiday season. Add them to your holiday cookie platter.
- Double up - You can make a double batch as they store really well.
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Equipment Needed
- Microwave-safe mixing bowl
- Baking sheet or cookie tray
- Spatula
- Cookie scoop
Key Ingredients
Peanut butter - Homemade or store-bought, smooth or crunchy peanut butter, you can choose any peanut butter you like for this recipe. I would be cautious of using a runny peanut butter or nut butter.
Chocolate - I used melting chocolate wafers for this recipe, but you can use any chocolate you like. Ghirardelli melting wafers melt easily and stays smooth longer. The chocolate also has a nice shiny sheen once it dries.
Vanilla wafers - This is a great way to add a bit of texture to the peanut butter. The vanilla flavor adds a little extra sweetness. Use a food processor to make the crumbs.
Butter - The unsalted butter helps to solidify the peanut butter balls when they are frozen. It gives them a little bit of structure.
Powdered sugar - A great way to add some extra sweetness to the peanut butter filling.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Gather all of your ingredients together. Add the peanut butter and butter to a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high power for 60-90 seconds or until the butter is melted and combined with the peanut butter.
Once the peanut butter is ready you can then add the powdered sugar and crushed vanilla wafers. Stir everything together until it has combined. It will take a minute to combine it and will seem dry at first but the sugar will dissolve into the peanut butter.
Place the mixture in the refrigerator for an hour to firm so you can make the balls.
Use a small cookie scoop to portion out the peanut butter and roll it into small balls. I used a #50 scoop which is about 1.28 tablespoons. If you do not have a cookie scoop you can use a tablespoon to portion the peanut butter balls. Add them to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Return the balls to the freezer to harden for 10-15 minutes.
Add the melting wafers to a dry microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in short 30-second increments on 50% power stirring after each burst until smooth. You can melt chocolate chips in the microwave as well, and I have tips on how to melt milk, dark and white chocolate.
You can also use a double boiler to melt the chocolate on the stove top if you prefer. This is a great way to keep the chocolate melted while dipping the balls.
Use a toothpick to poke the peanut butter balls and dip them into the melted chocolate. I use a spoon to spoon the chocolate over the top. Gently shake the excess chocolate off and then set it on the wax paper to harden. When you slide the toothpick out, you can dab a bit of chocolate on the top to cover the hole. You can also use forks to do this or they do make these chocolate dipping tools that are very handy!
Return to the fridge to harden. Then serve this easy treat and enjoy.
Decorating Ideas
There are so many ways that you can decorate these delicious treats. I think they make great buckeye balls. Just leave a little bit of peanut butter exposed when dipping in the chocolate. Creating a cute little buckeye.
You could even add some white icing to add a little detail. If you want to keep things simple, you could make up some white icing and then drizzle over the peanut butter balls.
Edible glitter is a lot of fun and perfect if you are making these treats for a party and perfect for the Christmas season. You could also add some edible gold leaf to make them look fancy.
Storage
The peanut butter balls are a great make-ahead treat and ideal for the holidays. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. You could even keep them in the freezer for up to four months. Make sure you store them in an airtight container.
They can last at room temperature for a couple of hours, but you may want to put them back in the refrigerator to firm up.
Why Are My Peanut Butter Balls So Sticky?
If you find that your peanut butter balls are sticky don’t worry. It is best to identify this when you are making the filling. You can simply add more powdered sugar to soak up the extra moisture.
The main reason they are sticky will be down to your chosen peanut butter. If you have used natural peanut butter or an alternative nut butter then you may find the texture is a little different. But powdered sugar should solve the problem. You could also leave them in the refrigerator and freezer longer than suggested to help them firm up.
Substitutions And Additions
- Peanut butter - I tested with this recipe with standard peanut butter, but you can use other nut butter like almond butter. The texture will be slightly runny and sticky so use my tip above to ensure that you can make them less sticky.
- Add chocolate chips - Why not add some mini chocolate chips to the peanut butter balls? A great way to add texture and extra sweetness.
- Crushed peanuts - You could add some extra texture with some crushed peanuts to this simple recipe.
- Vanilla wafers - Crushed graham crackers will work just as well. You can also buy graham cracker crumbs at the store to save a step.
- Candy melts - You can use different colored candy melts to dip peanut butter bites into.
- Melted chocolate - You could use white chocolate for the chocolate coating. It is sweeter than dark or milk chocolate but still tastes amazing with the peanut butter mixture. A combination of chocolates on a platter will give something for everyone.
- Bars instead - You could make no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars instead. Add the whole tray and freeze then use a sharp knife to cut the bars.
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and a 5- star rating. I would love to hear from you! Subscribe Here to get new recipes sent straight to your inbox!
No Bake Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups smooth peanut butter
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup crushed vanilla wafers
- 10 ounces Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- Add peanut butter and butter to a microwave safe bowl and heat on high power for 60-90 seconds or until the butter is melted and combined with the peanut butter.
- Then add the powdered sugar and crushed vanilla wafers. Stir together until combined. It will take a minute to combine it and will seem dry at first but the sugar will dissolve into the peanut butter.
- Place the mixture in the refrigerator for an hour to firm so you can make the balls.
- Use a small cookie scoop to portion out the peanut butter and roll into small balls. I used a #50 scoop which is about 1.28 tablespoon. If you do not have a cookie scoop you can use a tablespoon to portion the peanut butter balls.
- Return the balls to the freezer to harden for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the melting wafers to a dry microwave safe bowl. Microwave in short 30 second increments on 50% power, and stir after each burst until smooth.
- Use a toothpick to poke the peanut butter balls and dip into the chocolate. I use a spoon to spoon the chocolate over the top. Gently shake the excess chocolate off and then set on the wax paper to harden. When you slide the toothpick out, you can dab a bit of chocolate on the top to cover the hole.
- Return to the fridge to harden. Serve or store after the chocolate is firm.
- These are a great make ahead treat for the holidays and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or frozen for 3-4 months.
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